


The Symphony Equation

by J_Ace_Flicker



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Etymology, Found Family, Fuhrer Bastard, Fuhrer Roy Mustang, Gender Neutral Pronouns, Genius Edward Elric, Math, Neopronouns, Nonbinary Edward Elric, Synesthesia, edward elric lost his alchemy, ey/eir pronouns, gender neutral edward elric, math is love, the secret ingredient is love, yes I AM a dork how did you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25470535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_Ace_Flicker/pseuds/J_Ace_Flicker
Summary: Edward Elric hasn't played for the Mustang Unit, and they all agree that it's a shame.P.S. The secret ingredient is love
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	The Symphony Equation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pansexualorgana (MaximumMarygold)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaximumMarygold/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Feed The Flame 'Cause We Can't Let Go](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23353117) by [pansexualorgana (MaximumMarygold)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaximumMarygold/pseuds/pansexualorgana). 



> This isn't very well written but I came up with it at like 3am so Mar you have to deal.  
> Basically I was just inspired by a nonbinary Edward Elric story that was written very well, so like. All y'all should check out the work this was loosely inspired by because it is INFINITELY better.

Edward Elric had always been rather peculiar.

_Peculiar_

_Adjective_

  * _Strange or odd; unusual_


  * Particular, special



_Derived from peculiaris, meaning “privately owned” or “special; derived from peculium, meaning “property”._

Eir brother was a genius, and so were ey, but they were fundamentally different.

_Different_

_Adjective_

  * _Not the same as another or each other; unlike in nature, form or quality_


  * Distinct; separate. 



_Derived from different (stem of differēns), present participle of differe or differo. Dif meaning “apart” and f_ _erō meaning “carry, bear”. Transitive forms meaning “carry, spread, scatter,disperse, separate”. Figurative transitive meaning “distract, disquiet, disturb, confound, publish, cry, circulate, divulge, spread, down, defer, defame, put off, portract, delay, adjourn”. Intransitive meaning “different, differ, vary”._

Certainly, ey are disquieting, disturbing, confounding. Ey are most definitely property (of the state) _(dogs of the military)_. Eir brother is a genius, just as they are. Eir brother has photographic memory, just as ey do. But ey think that the thing that differentiates them the most, aside from the fact that Alphonse is just more good than ey are, is that ey can’t fake it.

What would take others hours to conclude takes em seconds. Ey don’t know how to slow down for others, to pretend to care about trivial things, to be “normal”. 

But the group ey are with don’t care about that.

“To five years of peace after we definitely didn’t stage a coup!” crowed Havoc, manic smile on his face as he downed another shot. He was tilting his wheelchair rather dangerously for a drunk man, which meant ey would feel no pity when he inevitably tipped himself over.

Breda put his face in his hands and let out a long sigh. “I hate you.”

To the side, Falman smiled indulgently as a tipsy Fuery ranted about a new project he was working on.

Directly behind em, Hawkeye, Winry, Alphonse, and Mustang sat, whispering and casting glances Ed’s way.

Ey were tense. Ey knew to be wary when any combination of Alphonse, Winry, and Hawkeye teamed up, and with Fuhrer Bastard in the mix, they were sure to dislike the outcome.

Ey sipped at eir drink-- it was mostly fruit with very little alcohol. Ey hated being drunk. Ey hated how _slow_ it made em. At least it was all on Mustang’s dime; they were all celebrating at the bastard’s house, after all.

“Edward Elric!” Winry shouted, the muscles in her biceps impressively flexing as she slammed down her hand on the table. Armstrong would be proud. “I was talking to Hawkeye about how well you play, and she told me that you’ve never played for them even once! They didn’t even know you _could_ play!”

Eir mind flashed through all possible meanings of play before reaching what ey knew to be the correct one: _to_ **_play_ ** _an instrument._

“Why would I play for these assholes? Doubt they’d ‘preciate it. They don’t really seem the musical type.”

“Why, _Edward_ , I take much offense to that. You know that I’m an avid fan of the opera.” Bastard.

“I know that you’re an avid fan of actin’ like you like that shit. I know you prefer that jazz type shit, you fucker. I know you actually hate opera because, and I _fuckin’_ quote, ‘ _It is a tedium that drags me out from my mortal shell and forces me to reconsider the concept of Hell. Perhaps it is not a physical pain inflicted but a mental strain forever tormenting you with the promise of leaving before belting out another incomprehensible line. It is inconvenient, overdramatic, and completely unnecessary. If even a single character communicated with the others, the whole plot would fall apart. What a useless artform.’_ End. Quote.”

Eir team laughed, and Ed unconsciously found emself preening. Ey were funny. Eir team enjoyed when ey spoke. Eir team enjoyed _em_.

“Sibler…” Alphonse started, and ey knew ey were in trouble. “Won’t you play something? For me? I haven’t seen you in months and I miss your music.” Alphonse pouted, his eyes wide and imploring. Ey knew ey were being played _(_ **_played_ ** _like a fiddle)_ , but ey couldn’t find it in emself to care. Alphonse was studying in Xing and hanging out with Mei, which meant ey didn't see him very often at all and that his letters were infrequent, absorbed as he was with life in Xing.

Ey turned to Winry, who had an identical pair of pleading eyes out. Winry, who was usually in Ishval as part of the medical team, giving out automail like candy and helping set up centers for rehabilitation.

Ey looked around, and found pleading eyes everywhere.

Ey blushed. “Fine. Fine! You jerks. I’m gonna play _one_ song on this bastard’s pretentious ass piano and then none of you can complain ever again!”

Around of cheers went up. “To Edward!” Havoc brought up a drink.

“To Ed!” the rest followed.

“Bastards.”

Ey sat at the piano, and played a few chords to check the tuning. “Hey Bastard, your piano is gonna have to be retuned soon.” Ey was pressing an E. It wasn’t quite yet a sour note, but would become one soon. Ey’d fix that after ey played.

“How can you tell?” Mustang leaned in, intoxicated and interested.

“Cuz I’m not a dumbass.”

Hawkeye snorted. “You could have fooled me, sir.”

“Shut up.”

Ey were thinking. What to play?

_Play_

_Verb_

  * _Engage in an activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than for a serious or practical purpose_


  * Take part in (a sport)



_Noun_

  * _Activity engaged in for enjoyment or recreation, especially by children_



_Derived from pleien, derived from plegan and/or plegian, meaning “_ _move lightly and quickly, occupy or busy oneself, amuse oneself; engage in active exercise; frolic; engage in children's play; make sport of, mock; perform music”; derived from plegōjanan, meaning "occupy oneself about" (also the source of Old Saxon plegan, meaning "vouch for, take charge of," Old Frisian plega, meaning "tend to," Middle Dutch pleyen, meaning "to rejoice, be glad," German pflegen, meaning "take care of, cultivate"). Connected to the root of the word “plight” (verb)._

“Who taught you to play, anyways?” Falman, of course. Information specialist can never have too much information.

“No one did. It’s just math, really.”

“ _Music_ is _math_? Blasphemy!” Ah, drunk Havoc was the gift that never stopped giving. Unfortunately.

Alphonse spoke up. “Ey aren’t lying. I don’t know how or why, but they see music as equations and vice versa.”

“Shut up. All of you. I’m about to start.”

“As you command, _Lieutenant.”_

“Hate you too, bastard.”

And ey started to play.

Ey viewed this motley group in a number of ways. As a positive feedback loop, ever expanding, always louder and louder (and all the better for it). So ey started simple and built. One note became three became a chord became four. They were circles, leaving but always returning. Magnets pulled apart flipping and coming together again. (Ey were not abandoned ey were going to see eir family again ey had a family). They were a torus, feeding into itself. They were lines and lines and lines of alchemic equations (alchemy that ey could no longer perform but ey loved eir brother ey would do it again but sometimes ey felt so hollow without it ey could see but not perform). 

They were warmth and goodness. 

Eir hands flew across the keys, pressing down on the foot pedals, rocking with all of the movement they had to do to coax the right sounds from the white and black teeth. Building and building and building. They would always do better be better work to become better. The melody was in full blast and the counter harmony kvelled back as they twisted and twined two separate lines become one (and the circle is complete).

And then ey took the swell of sound and slowly quieted it. Hands gentling. The end notes the same as the beginning but in reverse.

And the. Circle. Is. Complete.

_Complete_

_Adjective_

  * _Having all of the necessary or appropriate parts._


  * (for emphasis) the greatest extent or degree; total



_Noun_

  * _Finish making or doing_


  * (to make) something whole or perfect



_Hope_

_Noun_

_1) a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen._

_2) A feeling of trust_

_Verb_

  * _(to) want something to happen or be the case_


  * To wish for or desire



_Derived from hop, meaning “leaping in expectation”, derived from hopa, meaning “confidence in the future”_

Silence. Clapping. Hollering. Ed looked up, surprised.

“That was beautiful, Ed.” Hawkeye was smiling, an uncommon sight, but not nearly as rare as it was pre-coup.

“Please, play us another, Ed.” 

The Bastard never asked for anything so nicely. He also usually used eir full name. Ey looked around at the group of gentled faces and smiles, and felt something blossom in eir chest.

“Alright. Since you asked so politely, who am I to refuse?”

Edward Elric was always peculiar, but that just meant that ey had things to offer eir family that only ey could give.

A circle. Never ending. Always connected.

Ey would play enthusiastically, as long their family kept smiling.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So here are some links to some of the stuff I looked at for etymology  
> https://playconnectivity.weebly.com/etymology-of-play.html#:~:text=The%20current%20word%20play%20is,meaning%20'to%20care').  
> https://www.etymonline.com/word/play  
> https://www.etymonline.com/word/hope#:~:text=Old%20English%20hopian%20%22have%20the,a%20word%20of%20unknown%20origin.  
> I am literally in school for what is basically grammar so like. This is my bread and butter dudes.


End file.
